Friars Weekly Newsletter friday 14th november 2025

Nursery

This has been our busiest week yet. We started with ‘Odd Socks Day’. We read the story 'Simon Socks' and talked about how we are all different. Children then decorated their own socks. We continued the week with Remembrance Day where we looked at the King laying a wreath of Poppies and made our own wreath which we have hung up in nursery. We talked about the importance of these. And of course, our week ended with ‘Children in Need’. The children loved non-uniform and completing our ‘25 challenge’. We had to collaboratively throw 25 bean bags into the Pudsey outline on the playground, although it took us quite a few times, we did achieve this challenge.

REMINDER: Please send in WATER ONLY in children’s water bottles.

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Christmas Events - 11.11.2025

Reception

It has been a very busy week! It started on Monday with 'Odd Socks', and a discussion about how we are all different. The children have really enjoyed making poppies and learning about why we have them. On Friday, we had a visit from Pudsey and enjoyed lots of Children in Need themed activities. During our phonics sessions we have introduced the phonemes v, w, x and y. Our new tricky words this week are and, has, his and her. Thank you for reading with your children at home and for writing in their reading record books. In maths, we have talked about one more and about finding two numbers that add up to 5. We are continuing to learn our songs for our Nativity which will take place on Tuesday 2nd December at 9.15am and Thursday 4th December at 9.15am.

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Christmas Events - 11.11.2025

Year 1

Our week started off with Odd Socks Day and an anti-bullying assembly. We enjoyed looking at the different socks worn and talked about celebrating differences. We have continued to look at our book ‘The Emperor’s Egg’ in English and have learnt about conjunctions such as ‘and’. In maths, we have been learning about number bonds within 10 and have been using double sided counters and ten frames to help. Wrens have enjoyed outdoor learning lessons this week, even on the rainy days! The children particularly enjoyed looking for worms and centipedes and moving them to a new home in the garden. In Starlings, we have been busy learning the story of the Gunpowder Plot. They were able to sequence the story after hearing it. In Science, we have continued our exploration of materials with a scavenger hunt around the classroom. On Wednesday, we were excited to complete our first nativity rehearsal. The children are very excited about this and they did very well. Some children have lines to learn – we have sent them home to practise to help them feel confident. Please can you help them learn their lines in a loud voice. Thank you. Our week ended with Children in Need and Pudsey and Blush activities. Thank you for your kind donations to the charity.

REMINDER: Please check your child’s reading record book to find their log-in details for Numbots. Numbots is a fantastic online learning platform which helps children with their addition and subtraction skills. Also, please send your child’s reading record book into school every Thursday, so we can let you know how your child is getting on with their reading in class. School Photographs: No PE on Tuesday so just full school uniform.

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Christmas Events - 11.11.2025

Year 2

This week in English, we have been exploring poetry about fireworks. Many children were inspired by the fireworks they have seen over the past few weeks! We focused on onomatopoeia — words that sound like the noises they describe, such as ‘bang!’ and ‘crackle!’. The children came up with their own examples of onomatopoeia and recorded them in a word bank, which they then used to help write their own firework poems. In maths, we have continued our topic of addition and subtraction. The children have been applying their understanding of these operations to compare number sentences using <, > and =. We also solved a range of missing number problems, using our knowledge of addition and subtraction to support us to find the answers. In geography this week, we have been discussing the difference between human and physical geographical features. The children explored the school grounds to see how many different geographical features we could spot. Using our findings, we then sorted the features into human and physical. The children showed confidence when sorting the features and were able to explain the reasoning behind their choices, well done Year 2!

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Christmas Events - 11.11.2025

Year 3

This week, the children completed a set of English assessments. They all tried their very best and showed how much progress they’ve made in their reading and writing. Well done, Year 3! We’ve started a brand-new topic all about multiplication and division in maths. The children have been exploring patterns in the times tables and learning how multiplication and division are linked. Practising times tables at home (especially 2s, 5s, and 10s) will really help to build their confidence. In the afternoons, we’ve been learning about healthy eating and how to make balanced food choices. The children enjoyed sorting foods into groups and discussing what makes a meal nutritious and tasty! Our geography lessons have taken us back in time as we’ve been exploring hill forts. We discovered why people built them, where they were located, and what life might have been like inside one. The children especially enjoyed sketching their own hill fort designs! Thank you for your continued support — it makes such a difference to the children’s learning. We’re looking forward to another exciting week ahead!

REMINDER: School Photographs: The children need to wear full school uniform on Tuesday and bring their PE kit to change into.

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Christmas Events - 11.11.2025

Year 4

It's been a fantastic week in Year 4 with lots of great learning and some excellent whole school events. We all loved our anti-bullying learning and wearing our odd socks on Monday for Odd Socks Day. We spoke about how we are all unique and how that is something to really celebrate. Tuesday was Remembrance and Friday was Children in Need. There has been a lot to fit in! Mr. Leggett was away on Thursday and Friday, and although the children missed Mr. Leggett very much, they enjoyed being taught by different teachers including Mrs. Halls and Mrs. Pinckney. We're now all ready for a rest this weekend!

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Christmas Events - 11.11.2025

Year 5

This week the children in Year 5 have started taking some of their English assessments focusing on reading, spelling, punctuation and grammar. We have seen some great perseverance and are really proud of them so far. Keep up the hard work! We have used our maths' time this week to revise a range of areas focusing on fractions, measure, the four operations and line graphs. The children have also shown some great skills remembering their use of angles, negative numbers and roman numerals...what hard work! We have started our Christmas song for our sing along with the rest of the school. Please remember to keep practising the words for: Step into Christmas by Elton John. We've had a lot of fun with this so far. In history, the children have investigated further a range of Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses and displayed this knowledge through either a Pokémon or Top Trumps card. These will be great to play with! We welcomed in Place2be again this week, where we looked at positive affirmations and finished the session with a new grounding exercise focusing on mindfulness. It was great to see odd socks on Monday, and we celebrated Remembrance Day together on Tuesday. Pudsey too on Friday...what a busy week!

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Christmas Events - 11.11.2025

Year 6

This week our focus has been newspaper report writing in English. We have looked at old newspaper reports and identified many different features. We have discussed what bias means and written reports based upon the attempted assassination of Queen Victoria. In maths, we have begun working on equivalent fractions. We had some good discussion based upon Gandhi’s teachings and belief in non-violence. In science we looked at reflective surfaces. We have had a good day celebrating Children in Need.

REMINDER: School Photographs: The children need to wear full school uniform on Tuesday and bring their PE kit to change into.

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - Christmas Events - 11.11.2025

Computing

This week in Computing, we focused on our upper years—Years 4, 5, and 6—who have all embarked on new and exciting units this half term. Students are diving into the creation of podcasts, designing 3D models using Tinkercad, and enhancing their PowerPoint skills to produce various vector drawings and presentations. Year 4 commenced the week by exploring the world of podcasts. After listening to an engaging example, pupils identified vital features that contribute to a captivating podcast. They then began planning and scripting their own podcasts, with topics of their choice ranging from games and school themes to initiatives like Anti-Bullying Week and Children in Need. We shall continue refining our scripts in the next session, considering potential sound effects to enhance our creations. Year 6 children utilised Tinkercad to craft 3D models inspired by themes such as Children in Need and Remembrance. It was delightful to witness their creative talents in action, particularly the collaboration amongst students as they shared ideas and insights. Meanwhile, Year 5 students created informative PowerPoint presentations on Anti-Bullying Week and Children in Need, designed for educating younger peers. Their innovative designs were truly commendable and shared within the computing suite at the lesson's conclusion. Please take a moment to view their remarkable work on Showbie. Well done, Year 5!

Sports & PE

Last Friday, some of our Year 5 and 6 boy footballers headed to Len Forge to take part in the Southend competition. Fortunately is was a mild day and the rain only set in towards the very end. It was very hard to whittle the team down to only ten players, so well done to everyone who came along to training. The ten boys who were selected were invited to come along to two extra training sessions and most did attend. You could see the benefit to these extra training sessions when it came to the actual competition with some of the play on the pitch. The standard of football was high at the tournament and there were many tough contests where we did ourselves proud. There were a number of clean sheets, and where we did fall to defeats, usually it was only by a single goal. We drew with both Hamstel Junior School and Porters Grange Primary School - two other schools in our Multi-Academy Trust. Well done to all of the boys who participated. There will be more football opportunities across the year with further league matches taking place. Thank you to Mr. Brady and Mr. Latham who facilitated the day.

Online Safety

AI can now generate realistic looking videos that are almost impossible to distinguish from genuine content. From hoax news to abusive deepfakes, these synthetic clips can mislead, manipulate and even harm. As AI tools become more advanced, and more accessible, young people are increasingly at risk of encountering fake but convincing footage online. This #WakeUpWednesday guide unpacks the dangers of AI-generated videos, from the emotional impact of fake distressing content to the potential for impersonation and bullying. With practical tips to help young users spot deepfakes and navigate online spaces with confidence, this guide is an essential read for parents and educators navigating this rapidly evolving digital landscape.

PTA

The PTA has already started with its Christmas Fayre preparations such is the time and effort that goes into organising such a huge event. Thank you to the team... We know the Fayre will be as good as ever!